Friday, November 30, 2012

This December 1st, it might have been possible
for Mexicans to breathe a collective sigh of relief. The day will mark the
official end of President Felipe Calderón’s 6 year term. His presidency is commonly
referred to as “el sexenio de la muerte” or ‘the six year term of death,’ given
the murders of around 80,000 people which began after Calderón launched a
militarized war on drugs shortly after taking office in late 2006.However, a respite from the massacres, kidnappings,
disappearances, and human rights abuses does not seem to be on the horizon, as
the presidential power will transition to Enrique Peña Nieto, a member of
Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) which ruled Mexico for 71
consecutive years until the year 2000.

Peña Nieto comes into office under questionable election
results and with an already tarnished human rights record from his time as
governor of the State of Mexico from 2005-2011. Certain actions he has taken
since winning the July election also seem to indicate he won’t stray too far
from the course of Calderón, or Mexico’s financial and strategic partner in the
war, the U.S. government and military contractors.

Although he has stated he will no longer seek to confront
cartels head on by taking out capo leaders, Peña
Nieto plans to create, strengthen, and professionalize a unified 40,000
strong police force, continue the use of the army until no longer necessary,
and expand prisons. He will continue to cooperate strategically with the U.S.
and just this week met with President Obama to discuss the continued economic
and security integration of Mexico and the U.S.

Statistics from
Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) recently shared in a
meeting with the Senate’s Human Rights Commission paint a dismal picture. The
CNDH cited information compiled from January 1, 2005 to July 31, 2012. Five out
of the seven and a half years were under Calderón’s administration.

CNDH data reveals:

·Cases of torture have increased 500% (In 2005
only 1 torture complaint was received, compared to over 2,000 complaints of
torture and cruel treatment in 2011)

·9000+ complaints of arbitrary detentions, which
demonstrates that this is a recurring practice utilized by security forces.
Arbitrary detentions increased 121% during this time period.

·5,568 complaints were received about officials
failing to follow required procedures in issuing or executing search warrants

·2,126 cases of forced disappearances are under
investigation and in general, forced disappearances saw massive increases

·24,091 people are reported as missing

·46,015 documented murders

·15,921 bodies remain unidentified

·1,421 bodies were found in mass graves

·34,385 complaints against federal security
forces were received by the CNDH. (An increase of 84% in the last three years.)
Complaints mainly centered around illegal searches, forced disappearances,
arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial executions, and torture.

For me, you were “The Employment
President.”

(image taken from Mexicambio on Facebook)

In addition to data from the National Human Rights
Commission, a recent national survey
on the perception of citizen security indicated that 55% of Mexicans
believe Calderon’s strategy to fight organized crime “was unsuccessful”. Eighty
percent indicated that insecurity was worse this year than in 2011. Just 31% of
those surveyed were in agreement of the use of military operatives to combat
organized crime- a ten percent drop from the start of Calderón’s presidency.

Yet behind all of the data, statistics and numbers are
stories of mothers searching for their disappeared children, families mourning
their murdered loved ones, communities fighting to demand justice for crimes
committed by security forces. Mexico’s social fabric has been torn apart over
the last six years. The pain and suffering of people like Maria
Trujillo Herrera, who has four disappeared sons, is indescribable. Yet she
and many other victims
continue to speak out, at the risk of their own lives, against the
absurdity of fighting a war on drugs.

In 2001, the community located in the State of Mexico was
the site of protest by a group of farmers opposed to the expropriation of their
land to construct an international airport. Opposition to the plan was so strong it was
cancelled. When a conflict broke out over a highway blockade in May 2006, the
state government, some say seeking revenge for the 2001 protests, responded by
sending in thousands of federal police, armed with firearms and teargas.

Over two hundreds civilians, including members of the campesino
group and their supporters, were arbitrarily detained and brutally beaten. Two
young people were killed and women in particular were subjected to verbal and
psychological abuse as well as sexual torture. Several detainees remained imprisoned up to
four years after the attack.

The operation in Atenco, characterized by human rights
groups as the ”excessive and indiscriminate use of force” occurred under Enrique
Peña Nieto as governor. To date, no state or federal police officer or official
involved in the attack has been brought to justice, despite a recommendation
from The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) to investigate and bring to trial
those responsible.

Twelve of the 26 women, including Paty Torres, have brought
their case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, after failing to
receive justice in the Mexican judicial system.

The Atenco case represents the flagrant abuse of human
rights, criminalization of social protest, and total impunity authorized and
employed by Peña Nieto while governor. Give this history, many civil society
groups, activists, and human rights organizations believe the landscape for
human rights in the next Presidential administration looks bleak.

The naming of Colombian General Oscar Naranjo as his top
security advisor is further cause for concern. Gen. Naranjo is the former head
of the Colombian National Police, and is seen as a key figure in the
dismantling of Colombia’s major drug cartels. However, Naranjo
is accused of using back room dealings, favoring certain cartels over
others, and utilizing corrupt DEA and U.S. Customs officials to achieve his
aims. In addition, the naming of Naranjo
signifies Peña Nieto will be favorable to the U.S.’s agenda of military
intervention into Latin America as a whole.

This December 1st, instead of exhaling a sigh of
relief that should have come after six years of unimaginable violence and
insecurity, Mexican citizens may have to inhale even deeper, in order to face
the next six years. Or instead, they can do as so many have done throughout the
country’s history—organize, resist, and struggle against the powers that for so
long have marginalized and repressed those who dare to demand justice and
equality in Mexico.

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